I decided to choose this module as my future career aspiration is to become a Physical Education teacher. However, I felt that before committing to applying for a position in a postgraduate course for physical education teacher training, it was important to get practical experience within an school so I could get a feel for if the position was really for me.
To say I was delighted when I got allocated Wallace High School would be an understatement. I was on study abroad when I submitted the pre placement documentation, so due to the time difference I had to ensure that documents and communication between Romie and myself was efficient and submitted with plenty of time. I unfortunately could not apply for placement in my home town high school, due to the fact it is more than a 2 hour drive and a half hour ferry trip away so wouldn’t have been the most plausible of options.
As soon as I was allocated my placement and my mentor Rachel Whillans, I made contact via email almost immediately, being quite keen to get started. Rachel suggested coming into the school the following Tuesday to which I agreed and went along to. Initially, I felt nervous before going into the school but these nerves soon faded as Rachel and Colin Burke (head of PE at Wallace high) made me feel more than welcome and were both very easy to get along with. They gave me a tour of the school and asked me if I had any expectations of what I wanted from the experience, explaining that I just really wanted hands on experience in a school and to see if the job was truly for me.
They also suggested that I should potentially look into starting a netball club at lunch times for the girls and they had been asking about one and none of the staff had played before. I plan to look to see if there would be any interest in that once I begin placement. Rachel also emailed me a proposed plan for Tuesdays (the day in which we agreed to start with (complimenting my timetable very well). The classes will give me a vast variety of insight into a day in the life of a PE teacher, with classes ranging from senior football to core health and wellbeing.
I am hoping to get started next week, I cannot wait to begin and hope that this experience improves my confidence, ability to teach and confirms that this career path is something I want to seriously consider.
Glad you managed to get your work experience sorted and hope all goes well, Dene.
I am doing a similar work experience, therefore it will be interesting to see the differences in the way schools across the country deliver P.E. Enjoy your time there.